Page 58 of A Surprise Wedding for the Cowboy

“It’s never enough.” Stephanie slung the giant diaper bag over her shoulder. “Hopefully I’ve brought enough toys to divert him.”

Harper glanced over her shoulder as she led the way into the house. “So, how’s married life treating you?”

It was still two months until Harper’s wedding to Eli, so Stephanie didn’t want to get too deeply into that topic. “Pretty well. Tate’s busy on the ranch, of course. We knew that wouldn’t end.”

Harper wrinkled her nose. “I know how that goes. Sometimes it seems like Eli is already married… to Creekside Fellowship. You might recall.”

“Right.” Stephanie did remember. “The church comes first.”

“And the teens definitely do. They’re out of school now for the summer and always after him to do things.”

“It’s great they love him so much.”

“You’d think so.” Harper sighed. “Twice lately we’ve had to cancel a date because one or the other of them had a catastrophe that simply couldn’t wait.”

“Have you talked to Mrs. Smith… never mind.”

“Exactly. She’s the perfect minister’s wife, smiling and holding dinner for Pastor Marshall as long as it’s needed.”

Stephanie shook her head. “At least I don’t need to worry about holding meals. We eat at the dining hall most of the time. That’s about my only outing some days.”

“Aw, you poor thing. You’re used to having people around you all the time at the bank.”

“And to think I sometimes longed for a bit more quiet time!”

“I bet this sweet boy isn’t exactly quiet, though.”

“He’s not.” Stephanie was glad to see Harper had moved breakables off lower shelves and laid a chair on its side blocking the hallway. “But he’s also not a great conversationalist.”

Harper laughed as she set the kettle on for tea. “Well, we need to plan a day to finalize a few things for the wedding. When’s good for you? Do you have someone who can watch him for you?”

Stephanie wrinkled her nose. “Not at Sweet River, no. Everyone is so busy with their own jobs. Maribel — that’s Tate’s mom — cared for him while we were away, but she’s gone back to Kansas now.”

“His parents are separated, right?”

“Divorced. Tate was nine when they split, so it’s been ages.”

“My parents separated for a few years, too.”

Stephanie had forgotten that. She’d met the Satterfields many times in the past couple of years, and they seemed so loving together. “It’s good to know couples can reconcile after big problems, but I don’t see any evidence of Tate’s parents doing so.”

“Neither has remarried, right? So they probably still have a thing for each other. We’ll have to pray for them.”

Guilt poked Stephanie. She spent far too much time bemoaning her own situation and praying for herself, and not enough considering other people. Except Tate, of course. He was all wrapped up in her life now.

“Is marriage everything it’s cracked up to be?” Harper asked wistfully. “I can’t wait, but I also can’t help but worry the youth group won’t give us any space. That I’ll be just one more person Eli has to keep happy.”

“Marriage is great! We had an awesome time in Fiji. I never even dreamed a place like that existed. We had one of those thatched-roof bungalows on stilts right over top of the lagoon. We could watch the sharks and rays right from our cottage.”

“Oh, that sounds amazing! But I wasn’t asking about the destination. I was asking about you and Tate.” Harper held up a hand. “Not the intimate bits, but the over-all. Is being married as great as you hoped?”

Stephanie hated that she hesitated, because Harper couldn’t help but notice. “It’s good. Tate is wonderful.”

“But?”

“But things that were issues before didn’t magically resolve. You mentioned Eli being on call with the teens all the time.”

Harper nodded.

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